Story Intermission – Two Small ADV Bikes up California’s Highest Road

In Intermissions by AbhiLeave a Comment

About a month ago, my buddy Charles Fleming at the LA Times let me know that he had an idea for a story: the highest motorable road in California is a dirt route to Barcroft Station on White Mountain. They open the road twice a year to the public – would I want to join him for a ride to the top?

We spent some time deliberating what bikes to take up before settling on the newest entry level ADV bikes from Honda and Kawasaki, the CRF250L and Versys-X 300.

Getting to the top means you have to eventually come back down. Charles found a much more interesting route for our descent – a steep, rocky trail called Silver Canyon. The angle and the rocks exposed my only two concerns about the @kawasakiusa Versys-X 300: there's no real protection underneath the engine and you can't turn off ABS. Still, it was able to make it down without a problem. The views are beautiful and all the snow runoff means you get several small water crossings at the bottom of the trail to goof around in, if you're so inclined. Photos by @misterfleming1 #motorcycle #ride #bikelife #bikestagram #motorcyclesofinstagram #instamoto #everydayisforriding #throttleworld #motorcycleclub #throttlelife #throttlesociety #motorcycleride #kawasaki #kawasakiversys #versys #versysx #versys300 #watercrossing #araitakesyouthere #xladv #advrider #advlife #whitemountains #aerostich

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The tale of our summit and descent is in today’s Travel section of the LA Times if you’re a local that prefers holding paper in your hand, otherwise you can check it out here on the LA Times page. Enjoy!

Oh, and here’s a preview of what was inside Reward Mine. I’m definitely going back with some lighting, a better camera, and who knows what bike…